Tick Tock: The Race Is on for Pepper Pumperdine

I don’t normally promote my own work in progress on this site; as most people in the film business know, the best way to have your movie never see the light of day is to make big announcements before you’ve begun shooting, much less wrapped the sucker.

That isn’t the case with my children’s book, Pepper Pumperdine and the Fashion Fairy. It’s been written, it’s been tested on its target audience (in New York City, no less—tough customers even at nine years old), they think it’s going to be a huge hit, so all we need now is to get it edited, illustrated and published.

“In The Mushroom Garden” by Adam Oehlers

Those who have been following my writing for a while know that I have a fair amount of publishing experience. I’ve taken publications from when they were just insecure, wobbly firsts drafts, through the layout and cover design process, all the way to sitting there on the other side of the Heidelberg press with its troll-like whomp-whomp spitting out sheets of printed pages. This era of e-books and self-publishing is perfect for someone like me because I can control the process of my own product soup to nuts, and stand as much of a chance of having it be a success as if it were published by one of the Big Six.

I started a campaign on Indiegogo a little while ago to raise funds for those costs inherent in any publishing venture, especially one that aims to be done at the highest levels of professionalism. Despite my boasts of vast amounts of previous publishing experience, I’m not daft enough to think I can slap Pepper Pumperdine up there without it having been through the scrutiny of a ruthless editor who has a sound track record of putting out successful children’s chapter books.

I’ve also teamed up with a wonderful illustrator, Adam Oehlers. Check out his website here, or just Google image him (I find that’s better). It took me almost four months to find Adam, and it was worth every moment of doubt thinking I’d have to settle for someone second rate, who wasn’t what I really wanted. But Adam is more than what I really wanted, he is already informing the rewrite of the book by helping me describe what the Fashion Fairy looks like. I’d like to be able to commission as much work from him as possible, and even though he is extremely reasonable given the level of details he puts into his work, he’s not free.

I’m also going to need to cover marketing costs, as well as the limited edition printed copies of the book that I’m sending out to contributors. I think it’s one of the more powerful positives of the Internet that in this day and age you can basically pre-sell the artwork from the book to raise money to create it in the first place.

“The Lady Beetroot”

So there’s the short and sweet of it. Watch the video below, in which I pitch the project. That is followed by another even more charming one (I think) of me giving a talk about Pepper Pumperdine to my niece Savannah’s third-grade class at Trinity School in New York, which was such a hit with the kids that Savannah’s teacher volunteered to give input to the book on the next draft, without being asked. He just so happens to teach the only other book like it, The One Hundred Dresses, which was written in 1944. He agrees we’re due for an update.

Also, please like Pepper’s page on Facebook HERE. You’ll get regular updates, plus an inspiring Fashion Fairy of the Day.

The Indiegogo campaign page isHERE. Almost every level of contribution gets a piece of Adam Oehlers’ amazing art, which is only going to be more amazing once he’s been through the wringer with me.

Hurry, please. As of this post there are only 30 days left on the campaign, and as you can see from the Indiegogo site we are nowhere near our goal. Even if you can’t contribute, please share with friends! Thanks.

TRICK OR TWEET

No spinoffs? Game of Thrones is bigger than Star Trek was at this stage chronologically. It has almost endless potential, arguably more than Star Wars. Yes, it's bigger than HBO itself, bigger than its execs and their decisions.

Pope Francis is being disingenuous; this is no solution to clergy sex abuse. It's up to countries to require clergy to report abuse to the authorities, or the Church should lose all protections, like any other business. Spiritual leaders? Oh please.
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